Warped Tour's early hours: calm

June 21, 2012

Updated July 20, 2014 10:20 p.m.

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It's not exactly Nixon and Elvis, but I liked the juxiposition of Irvine Councilman Jeff Lalloway and Warped Tour guitarist John NIcholas, who plays with Matt Toka's band. FRANK MICKADEIT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Councilman Jeff Lalloway explains to member of the Liberty in North Korea movement that the mayor of Irvine is from Korea, as is one councilmember. The activist, Caira Ortiz of Placentia, at least pretended to be impressed. FRANK MICKADEIT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Not only were cigarettes illegal at the concert because of city regulations, but the Warped Tour itself promoted an anti-smoking theme. FRANK MICKADEIT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

It's not exactly Nixon and Elvis, but I liked the juxiposition of Irvine Councilman Jeff Lalloway and Warped Tour guitarist John NIcholas, who plays with Matt Toka's band. FRANK MICKADEIT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The Vans Warped Tour came to Irvine on Thursday. As of 4:30 p.m., the city was still standing. And – despite having almost been trampled in a floating mosh-pit that enveloped me in a fog of black T-shirts and Day-Glo hair – so was I.

As I reported last week, there was great anxiety among Irvine City Council members about the Warped Tour coming to the Great Park. Eighty bands and up to 15,000 teens and young adults coming together for 10 hours on a hot runway. The main worrier was Council member Jeff Lalloway, who wondered whether the kind of event that would have a head-banging band called Anti-Flag whose signature song repeatedly aims an old Germanic curse word at police and police brutality was the kind of event that belonged in the family-friendly Great Park.

I went with Lalloway on Thursday on a "fact-finding mission" during the concert's first hour or so. The bands' self-described genres include, "death metal," "hard core," "metal core," "death core" and "post hard core metal." In truth, the bands could be reduced to just two genres: 1) bands that scream; 2) bands that scream louder. About 15 minutes in, Lalloway declared, "I have a headache."

After a quality hour of this I was ready for the Reverse Day Care Center, a cool Warped Tour concept. Parents can wait for their kids in an air-conditioned tent with comfortable chairs, beverages and movies. The thing was, nobody knew where this tent was. The setup folks had abandoned the layout they'd given the city. Neither police, private security, nor the tour's PR people could tell me where it was. I spent most of my time before deadline wandering the four-acre site looking for it. So this would me my first criticism: Stick to the plan.

When I finally found the tent, though, it was everything promised. "Caddyshack" was on the big screen, there were drinks in an ice chest, it was dim and cool.

Larry Agran had been so freaked out he demanded police have "zero tolerance" for violations, no matter how picayune, including smoking cigarettes, which is illegal in the park. "We already wrote one ticket for smoking," Cmdr. Mike Hamel told me an hour after the gates opened.

I walked around with Lalloway for about an hour. He said he thought the "kids seem very well-behaved," which he attributed to the strong police presence – 33 officers, all paid for by the promoter.

The only real issue during the concert's first half was the traffic getting in. The promoter was expecting about 3,000 vehicles. Sand Canyon Avenue was backed up pretty much its full length west of the park. Adam Probolsky reported it took him one hour to negotiate the three-quarters of a mile between Irvine Center Drive and Marine Way.

As of my deadline Thursday afternoon, there'd been three misdemeanor arrests for marijuana possession, some citations for illegal T-shirt sales in the parking lot and a couple for smoking cigarettes, and a few minor medical aids for heat exhaustion. The bulk of the concert was ahead, however. If the situation changes, I'll update on Monday.

I've been torn about my plans for Saturday: 1) attend the Tree Hugger's Ball out in the canyons, where I'd mingle with greens and Daryl Hannah, or, 2) hit the Barrett-Jackson car auction at the OC Fairgrounds, where I'd rub shoulders with muscle-car maniacs who believe there is virtue in leaving the biggest possible carbon footprint.

I committed to Tree Huggers, which I've not been to in six years. But at some point in the afternoon, as I'm eating an organic kale salad with a biodegradable fork, my mind will drift to Barrett-Jackson, where at precisely 3 p.m. the absolute monster of American cars will be auctioned off. I've never been much of a MoPar guy, but I'm in awe of the Viper. And Dodge is back with a new generation SRT Viper. The very first 2013 production model will be on the block.

This car's V-10 makes 640 horsepower, or exactly 10 times that of the VW bus I putt-putted to get to my last Tree Hugger's Ball. Without much problem, a Viper owner can leave a visual carbon footprint with a tap of the accelerator – like a quarter-mile of rubber on any given on-ramp. Mitigating factor: the proceeds from the Viper auction will go to the Austin Hatcher Foundation for Pediatric Cancer. That's something even Daryl Hannah would have to approve of.

Mickadeit writes Mon.-Fri. Contact him at 714-796-4994 or fmickadeit@ocregister.com

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